Kris Kapoor '94
— Chief Investment Officer
“Regardless of whether the capital is for current or future pensioners, scholarship recipients, or for high net worth individuals, you must hold yourself to a high standard while striving for strong, risk-adjusted returns. Capital markets are extremely challenging and no two days are ever alike. ”
Personal/Professional Journey
How did you find your way to where you are today? Share a little about your professional journey.
After graduating from Furman in 1994, I knew I wanted to attend a top international business school. I spent time in Japan before attending Thunderbird. My first career after business school was at Michelin North America. I started in cost accounting on a special global software implementation project before transferring over to my target position, manager of pension investments. The nature of the experience at such a young age really set the stage for a career in institutional investing.
From Michelin, I joined the asset management subsidiary of BB&T in late 2003. While working at Michelin and BB&T Asset Management, I tried to be an active alumnus and offer assistance to Furman when applicable. When Furman decided to hire a dedicated investment officer over a decade ago, I was fortunate to be included in the conversation. The role at Furman has been a combination of doing what I love to do while being fully vested in the mission. It is really cool to come back to your alma mater for your career.
What inspires you?
Managing money on behalf of "clients" brings enormous satisfaction, yet is an awesome responsibility. Regardless of whether the capital is for current or future pensioners, scholarship recipients, or for high net worth individuals, you must hold yourself to a high standard while striving for strong, risk-adjusted returns. Capital markets are extremely challenging and no two days are ever alike.
Within the field
When providing advice for professional development, what are some tools or resources one should consider?
For students considering this career path, it is important to generate experience even before you have completed that first solid internship. We have a list of periodicals and books we distribute to interested students, but I always like to spend a few minutes up front understanding where young people might have already expended energy. If there are certain interest areas, we can tailor suggestions. Working with economics and business and accounting, we procured a set of CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Level 1 study materials, which are available in the library. These materials, as well as additional research texts, are an invaluable resource for those students willing and able to work to get ahead.
How would you recommend someone interested in the same career/vocation pursue a similar path?
The field of investments and finance is extremely broad when it comes to career buckets. Some types of people are destined to be sales/marketing–oriented. Others may be suited for quantitative analysis. Outside of class work and activities, it is important to read, solve problems, build models, invest (either "real" money or via a paper trading account), etc. early in the process to determine where your natural interests are. This really helps focus your early internship and first job search. This has been my experience while observing students who have received the types of offers they wanted.
What are some challenges you face in your industry?
There are always challenges: market cycles, regulatory changes, public perception of the financial careers. It is one of the aspects that makes this area so exciting. One challenge many cannot overcome is the forward-looking uncertainty and experience of making mistakes. Even the great investors make many mistakes, which result in capital destruction. Some individuals are not able to accept this and manage around the risk.
For someone just getting started
What do you wish you would have known getting started in your field?
I wish I had known no one expects you to be an expert when you are just starting out. If I had realized this sooner, I would have been more comfortable early on. When I started in the defense industry, I knew little and was afraid to speak up in meetings if something did not make sense. I was terrified to ask what something meant. Once I realized it is okay to stop and ask for clarification, it made me able to get more out of my interactions with others throughout the day.
What additional education or certification is required/recommended?
I suggest every student seriously considering an investment career consider starting the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) exam process during the senior year. It is a rigorous three-exam process, but the curriculum reinforces critical skillsets that will be useful in early job searches. Combining the Furman experience with the more in-depth body-of-knowledge can better arm our graduates.
Furman University
How has your liberal arts background shaped your career path or supported your success?
Furman prepared me in ways other schools cannot. The level of required critical thinking, in a variety of settings and unique problems, served me tremendously well while at Michelin. The courses I took and several specific professors challenged me to push away from the norm in order to succeed. I did not realize it at the time, but that foundation assisted later when facing unfamiliar circumstances.
What are other courses you took or you wish you would have taken that would also add value in your career?
I would take computer science courses to learn certain programming languages and logic. As our industry evolves, this is one area we mention to every young person who expresses interest in this field. Quantitative finance and machine learning is becoming an integral part of many investment processes.
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